Elon Musk Says Tesla Could Start Full Production of Optimus Robots as Early as Late 2027

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said the company expects to begin “full production” of its Optimus humanoid robots in late 2027, at the earliest, according to a report published by Yahoo Finance on Oct. 22, 2026.

The remarks place Tesla’s robotics timetable beyond the near term, indicating that scaling from prototypes or limited deployments to something closer to mass manufacturing is not expected before late 2027. In the report, Musk’s framing suggests the company is drawing a line between early-stage manufacturing and what it considers full production.

Optimus is Tesla’s humanoid robot program, built around the idea that a general-purpose robot could eventually perform tasks in industrial settings and, potentially, other environments. While Optimus has been a major part of Tesla’s public messaging about AI and automation, Musk’s timing comment, as reported, is focused specifically on production scale rather than on new capabilities.

The Yahoo Finance report does not provide additional specifics on what “full production” means operationally, such as factory locations, capacity targets, unit volumes, or ramp-up milestones. It also does not spell out whether production would be limited to internal use, delivered to customers, or tied to a particular pilot or contract arrangement.

Tesla also did not disclose in the reported item any details about manufacturing approach or cost structure, which would be central to judging how quickly Optimus could move from development into commercial-grade output. For investors and industry watchers, the gap between a headline production date and the absence of unit or revenue expectations leaves the impact on Tesla’s financial outlook uncertain.

Still, the timing comment matters for how the market may interpret Tesla’s broader strategy. Tesla is pursuing multiple technology fronts, but Optimus is distinct because it could, in theory, translate advances in AI, sensing, and robotics into a tangible product category. A defined target for late-2027 “full production” suggests Tesla is trying to create an external benchmark for when robotics manufacturing could become large-scale.

Even so, the most consequential questions remain unanswered in the reported remarks. What technical hurdles must be cleared before the company reaches full production, what quality and safety thresholds will be required, and how Tesla plans to manage supply chain constraints are not addressed. Without those elements, the comment reads more like a directional estimate than a fully specified launch plan.